The present invention relates generally to apparatus for receiving hot coke pushed from a horizontal coke oven chamber, and, more particularly, to an improved one-spot coke quencher car.
In the operation of a conventional coke oven battery comprising numerous coking chambers, it is customary to "push" coke from the chambers on a regular schedule. The hot coke is pushed by a machine carrying a ram that is designed especially for pushing the coke out of the oven chamber, through a coke guide and into a coke quencher car. The coke guide is designed to channel the hot coke into a fume collecting hood over a coke quencher car that is ready to receive the hot coke pushed from the oven chamber.
Heretofore, it has been customary to so place the quencher car that the hot coke gravitates into one end portion of the car. Then, as the coke continues to gravitate into the car, it is moved on rails by a locomotive so that the coke is more or less evenly distributed in the car.
Thereafter, the car with the hot coke therein is moved by the locomotive to a remote coke quenching station and water sprayed onto the hot coke quenches it and cools it. After quenching, the coke is dumped onto a coke wharf, and the quencher car returns to the coke oven battery and is ready to receive another load of hot coke from another coke oven chamber.
Heretofore, in the prior art, there is one U.S. Pat. 3,868,309 that illustrates and describes a one-spot coke quenching car. The car of this patent has a large hopper that receives hot coke pushed from an oven chamber through a hood fixed to the top of the car; the hood sloping upwardly and being fitted with a flexible wire cloth screen or curtain that can be stretched over the hood after the entire mass of hot coke has gravitated into the hopper. Coke discharges from the car through bottom pivotable doors.
The patent also discloses a transfer car that is coupled to the quencher car and that carries gas scrubbing equipment.